Digimon Universe: Demon's Disaster
by Baoulicious
Summary: When Takato has to go to the Eastern Quadrant to revive Calumon after an accident, he thinks it’ll be a piece of cake. But with the Digital World starting to fall apart and Guilmon at half strength, it’s gonna be anything -but- cake. Rukato


Demon's Disaster  
Chapter One: One Week

* * *

The sun was shining brightly that summer morning, as a certain boy began to awaken from his sleep. The boy's name was Takato, better known as chumly, gogglehead, and most recently, idiot. Though right now, with his mind still in dreamland, he believed he was some sort of knight bent on saving the kingdom and the beautiful princess from a dragon bent on eating all of the cake in the world.

Of course, the princess decided to fight the dragon herself, which lead to the poor knight being tricked into going in the broom closet with her and consequentially getting knocked unconscious by her fox-like servant. This, effectively, lead to the boy waking up and rolling out of his bed with a crash in an attempt to protect himself from further harm, only to realize moments later it was just a dream - and his mother calling from the bakery below if he needed an icepack again.

"N-No, that's okay!" Takato called down to the woman, running his hand through his hair with one hand and rubbing an eye with the other. After a good year of variations of this dream, and other various bumps and bruises life and knowing certain red haired girls was so kind to provide, he'd built up a resistance to this kind of thing.

The pain already fading, Takato took a look around, a smile starting to come to his face. He stood from the ground and walked over to the curtains, pulling them open to look outside. And it looked like a beautiful day, too. The sun was shining, there were just the right amount of clouds in the sky, and the people in the street were out and about looking happy.

This was the kind of thing someone wanted to open their curtains to every morning.

A catcall from the alley below later, however, the curtains were shut faster than you could say "Guilmon Bread" and Takato was frantically looking for clothes to wear with his Agumon boxers.

Just another average morning in the bedroom of Takato Matsuki.

___

The sun, Rika Nonaka decided, needed to know when to shine and when to pipe down and let the clouds out and about. Namely, on the rare day she didn't have early plans with anyone, which after that… _fight_ with Takato, were happening a lot more often. In fact, ever since that day exactly seven days ago, she had been more than happy to choose sleeping in over heading to the park to "play".

Not that she had liked going there in the first place, she had told the aforementioned gogglehead once, somewhere around a year after their battle with the D-Reaper. She just did it keep a watch on Renamon's competition for title of the strongest Digimon around, that's all. He, of course, had just laughed and accepted her answer as something _completely_ different from what she said - though it was pretty close to how she _felt_, not that she'd ever--

Wait a minute. Why was she even thinking about him anyway? Why ruin the day before it began?

"Idiot," the sleepy girl murmured to herself as she slowly rose from her futon, stretching out one arm behind her and covering her mouth with the other as she yawned. She could smell breakfast cooking, or at least breakfast fresh enough it still smelled that way, which meant she wasn't up quite as early as she had thought.

As the girl stood and began to get dressed, she idly wondered where her partner was. A particularly hearty laugh from her grandmother and some words following it in the other room soon confirmed that Renamon and she were having breakfast. Rika closed her eyes, tying up her hair in its usual top knotted style.

"So she went to the shoot after all…" Rika sighed and glared at a spot on the wall of her room, pulling on her headphones from the table and turning the music up to its highest setting. She hadn't been… looking forward to her mother actually being there at the Digimon tournament in a few days.

No, not at all. She sure wasn't disappointed, that was for sure. It wasn't like this was the first time Rumiko had seriously committed to cheering her daughter on and then been called away to another country. Heck, Rika hadn't even wanted her to go! She should be jumping up and down, or at the very least… not happy, but pleased would have been nice. Instead, the girl just scowled.

Somehow, this too was Takato's fault, as had been almost everything that had gone wrong this past week, be it a stubbed toe or a misplaced card. Now, even her afternoon plans of explaining the rules of the game - for what was probably the tenth time - to her mother were gone.

Well, good, the stupid woman should have paid attention the first time anyway.

"Stupid idiot _gogglehe--_" Rika had started walking towards her door to get her hands on some of her grandmother's cooking, expecting nothing out of the ordinary to happen. Of course, with her headphones on and Renamon currently eating, that made it all the easier to get the jump on her.

Which would prove to be Rika's demise as, instead of sliding open her door, she ran smack into her mother - who had pulled open the door just a moment before Rika attempted to. This, in turn, caused Rika to fall back on her rear and stare incredulously at the woman, who seemed to be having a cheerful, friendly conversation on the phone with someone.

From the sounds of the snippets of the conversation she had just heard, it must have been one of those nicer photographers or something stupid. Had Rika been another girl, she _might_ have thought it was a boyfriend - but surprisingly, Rumiko never had boyfriends and Rika was not another girl.

Of course, Rika was still too stunned at her mother's appearing in the first place, when she had been sure her mother was in another country, to come up with some kind of further mental remark about that.

"Oh, good, you're up! Rika, honey, that cute Takato friend of yours is on the phone for you, and--" Rumiko could only gasp lightly as the phone was ripped from her hands by Rika, looking… _embarrassed_? Oh, how cute, she didn't want her friend talking to her mother! Just as she was about to start gushing at her daughter, unfortunately, the girl promptly strode right past her and out of the room.

"What do you want, gogglehead?" the flustered girl asked, somewhat angrily, as she walked towards another room, namely the one where she could slam the phone down on its receiver if need be, taking a moment to look at her mother, before turning to the phone again. Something _else_ that was Takato's fault, it seemed. Thoughts of her mother already gone, Rika impatiently waited for whatever that idiot had to say to, well, be said.

Of course, just because Rika was on the phone didn't mean said mother was going to up and _leave_, after all. If Rika wasn't going to go to the trouble to be private about her calls, then Rumiko wasn't going to go to the trouble to move somewhere where she wouldn't overhear.

It made perfect sense, right?

Nodding to herself, the model leaned against a tree and crossed her arms, watching Rika who was completely engrossed in the phone call.

… Or rather, she _was_.

_'My, if she slams it down like that again it might break…' _the model thought, a hand coming to cover her mouth. She smiled, though, as not a minute later (after much glaring at the phone and a few choice words under her breath Rumiko did not know her daughter even knew) Rika picked up the phone and redialed the boy's number. _'Well, now she looks much calmer… I guess she needed that. Girls these days…'_

Laughing to herself, Rumiko decided it was time for breakfast and went to eat with her mother and Renamon. She just hoped she'd be able to coo at Rika about calling the boy back and making up with him once _she_ came for breakfast.

___

Takato's day began like any other day in the Matsuki family's bakery did. Well, not including the part where he gave the people in the street a free show, anyway. The rolling out of the bed part was starting to become more common, though. Next he'd have to work down in the bakery for the morning, take out the trash, do the dishes that needed to be done, and, last but not least, wake up Guilmon.

In any case, the first thing young Takato did was attempt to wake up his partner, who was steadily becoming the bakery's mascot. One might think something like an alarm clock would do, but not with Guilmon. There were really only two surefire ways to get that Digimon to wake up, and those were another Digimon and fresh bread. Seeing as Takato had no control over "Wild Ones" appearing in the real world, that left only one other option - fresh bread.

Fortunately, all Takato had to do was open his room's door for the smell of fresh bread to slowly come into the room. Unfortunately, Guilmon's reaction to the scent was instantaneous, and the tamer barely had enough time to get out of the way as his partner charged past him with a cry of "Bread! Bread for Guilmon!'

Chuckling a little at his partner's antics and making a mental note to find a better way to get Guilmon up, Takato made his way down the stairs himself. After a quick breakfast comprised of a few pastries grabbed off the shelves, Takato donned a hairnet and got to work. It took roughly an hour to get all of the chores and baking done with, and with that all being done, the boy was free to spend the day as he saw fit.

"Let's see... I don't have to meet the others at the park for an hour or so, I think," Takato said to himself as he idly watched Guilmon pass out flyers outside. You'd think most people would avoid a bakery that had a fire breathing dragon advertising, but business was better than ever. "Who knew? Now let' see... I could beef up my deck a little! Yeah, wait till Rika sees some of the new cards I…"

Takato paused, a frown coming over his face. Right. Rika was mad at him still, wasn't she? Jeez, why was she so... Takato shook his head. He'd spent the better time of two years getting to know the girl, and something as little as _that_ had got her mad like this?

The frown faded a little and was replaced by heat starting to spread over his cheeks. Okay, so it wasn't _that_ little, but still... Maybe he should call her? She'd probably hang up on him, but then again, maybe...

"Takato! Takatoooo! Look ooout!"

"Wha?" Takato looked up from his thoughts only to see a bag of flour flying at him. Now, one would think this would be the cue for a comedic scene in which the bag explodes all over Takato's head and he is forced to change his clothes and wash himself again.

Thanks to nearly years of being a tamer and knowing Rika, however, gave Takato better reflexes than most would give him credit for, so he merely ducked at the last second and the bag went sailing over his head.

... right onto his _mother's_.

"Ha... ha…" Slowly turning to her, Takato smiled sheepishly at the woman. He didn't have to see it to know Guilmon had already evacuated the building and was probably hiding in the alley outside with Takato's dad.

__

'Aww nuts.'

___

"Yes mom," Takato found himself saying for what felt like the millionth time, shooting what he hoped was an inconspicuous glance at the clock. She'd been at it for twenty minutes! _Twenty minutes!_

"Well, seeing as you've paid such _rapt attention_ to me," Mie Matsuki said, emphasizing 'rapt attention' to the point that Takato _knew_ another look at the clock might get him grounded. "You can go now."

Takato breathed a sigh of relief. Or at least, he began to, but was cut short by another outburst from his mother.

"But tell your father to stop hiding outside! Someone's got to keep this place together while I wash up! And... And tell Guilmon he can't throw flour anymore! And…" Mie's orders soon became mutters under her breath as she walked up the stairs, leaving Takato to make a mental note to get her something really _really_ good for Mother's Day.

Finally getting that sigh of relief, Takato watched his father enter the store at wink at him, and with the promise of a bigger allowance lifting his spirits, Takato headed over to the phone to dial Rika's number. After a few rings, someone finally picked up, though they didn't speak right away.

"Um, hello?" Takato said, trying to hide his nervousness. He hoped Rika had calmed down some since their encounter in the street three days ago - despite her hasty apology as she stormed off, the bruise from it was as nice and purple as ever - because, in all honesty, he _did_ miss her.

"Hello?" came the cheerful voice from the other line, one Takato only somewhat recognized. Regardless, it wasn't Rika. "May I ask who's calling?"

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. It was Rika's _mom_. Now, Takato was perfectly fine with Rika's mother, really, but after a certain incident involving her roping Rika's fellow tamers into a photo shoot - a certain incident that indirectly ended up causing a certain fight which had made Takato want to call Rika in the first place no less - well, let's just say he didn't want to make things worse.

"Uh. This is Takato, and-- I mean, this is Takato Matsuki, you know, the one with the goggles, and, wow it sure is nice out today, and. Um... Uh. Is Rika home?" The last part came out rushed and almost quiet, and for a moment there was silence on the other line.

And then came laughing.

"Of course I remember you! You looked so _cute_ in that… Oh, right, Rika?" the woman paused, but at least her tone calmed him down a little. He could hear some conversation on the other line, from the sound of it she was asking if Rika was around. "I think she's sleeping right now, but I can check on her… Do you mind holding on for a minute? Her room is across the house."

"Oh, actually, I don't mind, but if she's sleeping, maybe I should call back…" Takato trailed off. If Rika was going to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, he did _not_ want to be the cause of it.

"Nonsense! She needs to get up anyway," Rika's mother, however, did not share Takato's worry. "By the way, have you ever considered a career in modeling?"

"Er…" Takato really never had, but he didn't want to be rude… Though another photo shoot like that last one… He shook his head, trying to shake off the memory, and answered a little shakily. "Not… really?"

"You really should! Trust me, you'd be _amazing_," replied the woman, as if his nervousness was as obvious as Gallantmon's Crimson Mode being a Virus type _and_ a holy knight all at once. She continued to go on for a few minutes, and some parts actually seemed somewhat interesting, so Takato politely listened and gave his thoughts to her. However, that feeling quickly started to fade as she went on. "I know this _excellent_ photographer who just loves boys your age…"

Luckily for Takato, it looked like Rumiko had arrived at Rika's room before the conversation had gone to places he really didn't want them to go to.

"Oh, good, you're up! Rika, honey, that cute Takato friend of yours is on the phone for you, and--"

Takato blinked as Rika's voice suddenly came onto the line, and he instinctively laughed nervously. That was about all he got to do, though, because Rika was already questioning him about his reasons for calling her - and waking her up, presumably. And probably talking to her mom, which wasn't _really_ his fault nor was it a bad thing but…

"I was just calling to… see how you were doing?" Takato answered her cautiously.

"I'm fine," was the impatient sounding response. "Anything else, Ta… gogglebrain?"

Well, gogglebrain was better than idiot, or at least Takato thought so.

"I was kind of hoping if you'd maybe like to come with me-- us, actually, to the park today? You haven't come in a while, and we all miss you, and if it means you'll go then I won't go," Takato didn't want her relationships with everyone else ruined because of him.

"Oh _please_, like you could handle missing out on your playtime," Rika said sarcastically, though Takato could tell she was brightening up to the idea a little.

He managed to smile a little to himself. A week was too long to go without Rika's sarcasm. Now, her anger, he could definitely go without that for a loooooong time.

"Oh yeah?" Takato challenged, forgetting his main plan of being apologetic momentarily. Besides, it was time to be bold! "Why don't you go then and find out?"

"Maybe I will!" Rika countered, and for a minute, Takato felt like he had won. And then the feeling went away. "But you know, I thought we weren't on speaking terms anymore."

"We're speaking right now, aren't we?" was Takato's brilliant response.

Which promptly got him the sound of the phone being slammed onto the receiver. Good work, Matsuki, good work.

"Daaaad, why are girls crazy?" Takato called out in the direction of the kitchen. The response was cut short, fortunately for Takato's father, by the phone ringing. His stomach did a somersault when he saw who it was on the caller identification. If she was giving him a second chance that fast, he was going to take it and do it right. "Never mind! I've got it!"

___

"… Sorry I hung up on you like that," Rika mumbled over the phone, looking away despite the fact Takato was not actually looking back at her.

"It's okay," was his reply. He sounded more confident than he had before, ignoring his five minutes of boldness before. That's good, it would be easier to yell at him. Or… be angry at him in general. Stupid gogglehead. "So…"

"So," Rika repeated plainly. It took Takato a few seconds to think of something, and during those seconds, Rika would have been lying if she said she hadn't _secretly_ been hoping he'd give her an excuse to go. Takato was good at making stupid things enjoyable.

When he himself wasn't being stupid, anyway.

_'Stupid like his stupid now, not his regular stupid,' _Rika mentally corrected to herself. _'Gogglehead not being regular stupid would be like…'_

About ten stupids later and still nothing from Takato, Rika finally had enough with her thoughts and cried "This is stupid!", forgetting she was on the phone with someone.

"Wha?" was all Takato could come up with, apparently.

_'There's the stupid we all know and love,'_ Rika thought sarcastically, and despite herself, she found a smile trying to bring its way to her face. "Nothing. Never mind."

"Okaaaay," At least he wasn't stammering anymore. Jeez, had she worried the poor guy that much by being mad? Maybe she was a little too harsh…

… Nah.

"Anyway, I just got my allowance and…" Rika raised an eyebrow. What did she care about his allowance? "And I was wondering if maybe I could take you out after the park. That new set of cards came out the other day, and um, I could buy you some packs? We could get some lunch or something too, I guess…"

Rika blinked. Was she being bribed? By _Takato_?

"What, and ditch Henry, Jeri, and the dweeb patrol?"

"Henry's taking Suzie and Lopmon to a movie and Kazu won a bet so Jeri's helping him and Kenta with their summer homework afterwards," Takato explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Then again, if she hadn't been ignoring him for this past week, it probably would have been. Rika scowled. Stupid gogglehead.

"Oh," she replied finally, shifting the phone from one ear to the other and biting her lip. She _could_ talk to her mom tonight instead of this afternoon… "Fine, I'm in. I just hope your allowance can cover it, Takato."

"Don't worry about it! It'll be more than worth it to…" Takato trailed off, but Rika knew what he meant. Now that she "wasn't mad at him" anymore, she sort of felt the same.

Darn it, she used to be the Digimon Ice Queen, she should be able to go a week without hanging around her friends. Though she supposed the fact she was able to even admit to having friends destroyed her being the Digimon Ice Queen. … At least, if she admitted it to _other people_ anyway.

"… How's your arm doing?" Rika asked after the short pause.

"Huh?" She didn't need to be there to know Takato was staring at the phone. "Oh! … Oh. Don't worry about it, Rika, no telephone pole is gonna get the jump on me." He laughed. "You should see what I did to it after you left."

"You'll have to show me later," she told him, and with that tension gone, she began to find herself feeling better than she had in days. "After I get my new cards, anyway."

"Right, right," He sounded happy. She felt a… fluttery sensation, knowing she'd caused that. Either that or she was hungry, and knowing herself as well as she did, Rika was pretty sure it was the latter. "Great, so it's a date! See you Rika!"

"Wait, what--"

He hung up. Oh was _he_ going to get a talking to later…

Grumbling about stupid goggleheads saying stupid things and getting ahead of their stupid selves, Rika yawned loudly and went to get some breakfast. She was too tired to deal with him anymore anyway.

___

"Come on Guilmon, time to go to the park!"

The fifteen year old tamer was smiling as he and his partner left his family's bakery, completely unaware of what would be happening in the days to come, completely unaware of the golden eyes watching his every move from afar. But then, how could he have possibly known?

For now, Takato was merely set on seeing his friends, especially the one he had finally managed to make up with, with just one thought on his mind as he and Guilmon made their way through the crowds outside.

_'I think today is going to be a really good day.'_


End file.
